Itching To Buy A Pebble Watch? The Meta Watch Is Already Here

You know the Pebble, that iPhone-compatible wristwatch which raised ten million dollars on Kickstarter? Turns out somebody else made one already. It’s called The Meta Watch, and has been available for Android for more than half a year.

Of course, being an Android accessory means that nobody has heard of it. That’s about to change, though, as a new Bluetooth 4 update means it will also work with the iPhone and new iPad.

The biggest difference between the Pebble and the Meta Watch is that the former uses an e-ink display and the latter a 96 x 96 LCD. But given that wristwatches have used LCD since, like, forever, this seems like a smart choice.

Interestingly, the Meta Watch isn’t so much of a product as a platform — it is meant to be sold to other companies who will create the applications using an SDK, and then sell the watch on to you.

The watch has an accelerometer, six buttons, a vibrator and a light sensor, and the case is made from stainless steel and scratch-resistant mineral glass. It costs $199.

In theory, the Meta Watch can do anything that the Pebble can do, with the addition of also working with Android. It also has the advantage of being a real, shipping product which can be bought today (for Android at least — the iPhone version will be out later this month), whereas the Kickstarter only released the money to the Pebble’s developers three days ago.

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Hi Charlie – thanks for the article. Actually, the displays used by both Pebble and Meta Watch are manufactured by Sharp (not E-Ink). Pebble uses Sharp memory LCD and we use Sharp’s Polymer Network memory LCD.

“In theory, the Meta Watch can do anything that the Pebble can do, with the addition of also working with Android.” The pebble DOES work with android, and offers the ability to read texts on it that iOS can not.

The Pebble works with both Android and iOS. In fact, it offers an additional feature when used with Android that iOS cannot provide: SMS notifications.

Also, they both use LCD technology.

Pebble also has Bluetooth 4.0.

Finally, the Pebble is $50 cheaper than the Meta watch, and since it’s made for consumers, it already has a much larger developer network than the Meta watch. So all in all, the Meta watch is a terrible deal for the consumers, compared to the Pebble watch.

shaynetroxler

Seems like the meta, for consumers anyway, would be like having an iPhone with no OS. Capable of heaps but having no software. I think I’ll hold out for my pebble which already has apps out. Like it’s integration with runkeeper. I was unable to locate much that worked with the Meta.

flippadollars

Just picked up this watch at Amazon and got a great deal on a used one. I’m so excited that I would like to share the discount that I received with anyone who is looking to get this awesome smart watch: http://amzn.to/10EaPEn – Wow, they don’t have many left.